The first student enrolment count of the year has come in at 111 students lower than expected, something which St. Paul Education Regional Division Supt. Glen Brodziak admits “is a little concerning.”
“The numbers do fluctuate throughout the month,” said Brodziak to those in attendance at the first SPERD Board of Trustees meeting of the 2015-16 school year, last Wednesday. He added, “The next official count will be within two weeks time.”
The school board projected 4,068 students would be enrolled throughout the division’s 15 schools, a modest increase of 16 students from the 4,052 students SPERD had registered in 2014-15. As of Sept. 8, there are 3,957 students enrolled in K-12.
Eleven of the SPERD schools out of 15 have experienced an enrolment drop. Ecole Mallaig Community School (+14 students over 2015-16 projection) and St. Paul Regional High School (+13) were two schools that managed enrolment increases. Hairy Hill Colony School and Plain Lake Colony School’s enrolment have matched projections.
The school experiencing the sharpest drop in enrolment is Two Hills Mennonite School. It was anticipated that the school would have 590 students, a 24-student increase over the 566 students it had last year. According to the Sept. 8 count, there are 545 students currently attending Two Hills Mennonite School.
Brodziak suggested in an interview with the Journal on Friday that the downturn in the economy and the state of the Two Hills community’s housing market as being potential factors, while the downturn of the economy could be a factor in division-wide drops as well.
This is a reversal of fortunes for the Two Hills Mennonite School. Brodziak said prior to this year, this was a school that was constantly experiencing dramatic growth. Enrolment was “increasing by 50 students a year,” he said.
When posed the question as to what this drop in enrolment could mean for funding, Brodziak answered by saying a reduction of “three quarters of a million dollars” is a possibility.
Brodziak said the division would continue to monitor school enrolment on a daily basis leading up to the next released count.
New Religious Coordinator
At SPERD’s opening mass of the new school year at the St. Paul Cathedral on Aug. 27, Yvan Beaudoin was saluted for all his years as the division’s religious coordinator.
“We thanked Mr. Beaudoin for the fantastic job he did for us and we welcomed Cynthia Martin as our new religious coordinator,” said Brodziak. “Mr. Beaudoin has decided to teach full time at Racette.”
Brodziak told the Journal that Beaudoin was operating in this role continuously for 15 years prior to stepping down.
School Division Pow Wow:
The 6th annual St. Paul Education Regional Division Number #1 School Division Powwow in Frog Lake is happening this Friday.
The one-day event will begin at 10 a.m. with opening prayers. After that, a grand entry will commence. All the dance performances will begin after 10:30 a.m. Over the lunch break, the annual junior and senior powwow princesses will be crowned. The entire crowd in attendance will be invited to participate in a intertribal dance. In the afternoon, there will be a special elder recognition ceremony and a round dance to bring the day to a close.
“It is going to be a great time,” said SPERD trustee Lorne Young. “Based on the quick numbers put together yesterday (Tuesday), and the fact that Frog Lake are going to be bringing all of their students, they are estimating between 1,200 to
